World Mother Earth Day Statement / Declaración del Día Mundial de la Madre Tierra

Political statement on the occasion of World Mother Earth Day

Tq’ijlal Qtxu’ Tx’otx’.

The Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango -ADH in defense of the land, autonomy, and free determination of the people -ADH

On April 22, 1970, the U.N. declared World Earth Day, and approximately 20 million people participated by demonstrating in the streets to celebrate.

Now, 1,000 million people, from 180 countries around the world, commemorate World Mother Earth Day.

After more than 53 years marking this anniversary, the threats against our Mother Earth have strengthened and increased. The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), according to its own ways and at its own whim, hands out and encourages licenses for exploration and exploitation of our natural assets, reforming regulations and obstructing the proceedings of good faith community consultations.The MEM is putting these natural assets in danger, diminishing their legitimacy. The protection of our territories in the face of such extractivists is fundamental because extractive industries and CACIF’s large monopolies are hoarding the Water and destroying Mother Earth. They are the ones responsible for the deadly contamination of our society and our cosmos. Corrupt government officials have co opted the national institutions that should be defending natural resources, and have no interest in promoting nor applying the laws and regulation created for the protection and sustainable use of natural resources. On the contrary: they have violated and criminalized land defenders. As the people, we have come together to launch a proposed bill 5070 for the protection of water which was shelved in response to petty interests that favor the current economic system.

222 million tons of food have been wasted due to maldistribution of resources, polluting from soil to water sources worldwide.

150,000 square kilometers of forests burn every year, primarily due to human activities and the rise in global temperature.

When Mother Earth is sick, we are also sick. The Water, the air, the oxygen, the grandfather sun, hurt us and little by little our COSMOS deteriorates as a consequence of our actions.

Our objective in commemorating this day, year after year, is to create consciousness in the population to care for and value our Mother Earth and Mother Water. Our priority is to protect them with strategic actions in the face of predators.

Once again the ADH, with firmness and dedication, affirms that it will continue connecting fights in the defense of land and life, in order to create more social harmony and reach justice for our communities.

We call on the diverse social organizations of our country to join us in putting the responsible protection of Mother Earth in the forefront. As for international bodies, we call on you to dedicate to legislate and investigate protective mechanisms in order to save the Mother Earth that gives us all life.